[chbot] Robotics Competitions!

[Mark Atherton]

Hello Anthony,

Glad to see you at last nights meeting.

I am most interest to see how some of you projects have worked out.

 From the tone of the presentation, everything is implied to be 
open-source (please correct me if this is wrong).

Anyway, pointers to web pages of projects you have participated in 
would be most welcome.

Regards,

Mark


At 07:34 p.m. 31/03/2013, you wrote:
>Hello hello and greetings to all the members of the Christchurch 
>Robotics Group.
>
>My name is Anthony Edwards and I am one of the Directors of an 
>organization, currently based in Christchurch known as the Cerberus Foundation.
>
>We are primarily a Research and Development organization with a bit 
>of a passion when it comes to Engineering and to help further our 
>work and encourage people in the Robotics field we are in the 
>process of setting up two robotics competitions.
>
>The first is the easiest to enter but has potentially the smallest prize.
>
>The 200 Dollar Judgement.
>
>This competition is extremely easy to enter, but difficult to win 
>since you'll be competing against everyone else as well.  This 
>competition was originally inspired by the founder of the Society of 
>Robots and was based on the rules and guidelines of the competition!
>
>There are two main rules that you need to observe
>
>1) Build a nifty robot. It could be any kind of robot - a biped, a 
>sumo robot, a sailing robot, or even a flying robot.
>
>2) Write a really good tutorial on your robot and post it back to me 
>via email. This means post pics, video, schematics, designs, source 
>code, etc.  This information is likely to be posted to our website 
>in an effort to encourage resource sharing, but if you wish to keep 
>something between the builder and the Judges just make sure to 
>mention it in the email.
>
>Guide to Winning
>There are a few basic outlines we will use to judge your robot, make 
>sure to keep each guideline in mind while constructing and 
>documenting your robot.
>
>Engineering - We will judge your robot based on how well you 
>constructed it and how well it performs. There is a huge difference 
>between a robot thrown together with duct tape, and one planned out 
>really well on paper or CAD. We will determine how well you 
>engineered your robot in three ways: pics of your robot, 
>plans/designs posted, and an optional shake test. If you can supply 
>a video of you violently shaking your robot, then putting it on the 
>ground and it still works, then that usually gives huge bonus points.
>
>Repeatability - Creators of semi-functional robots like to only show 
>videos of their robot working. We discourage you filming your robot 
>a dozens times, then posting the only video of the robot when it 
>actually worked correctly. Tell us how well it works. Tell us the 
>failure rate. Tell us why. If your robot does something 
>unbelievable, have it do it multiple times in a single un-edited shot.
>
>Originality - We've seen many robots in our day and would like to be 
>impressed. New ideas that others can use on their robots are really 
>useful. You should explain any original ideas you have in a manner 
>that others can copy.
>
>Tutorial Quality - This is a guideline that judges your ability to 
>convey your knowledge to others. Have decent grammar/spelling 
>(please spell check!), good step-by-step pictures, good text 
>spacing. Images and video are great ways to compliment complicated 
>information. Include as much information you can about your robot to 
>help others learn from it. Your source code should be well 
>commented, and easy to understand, too. And don't forget a parts 
>list, total cost to you, and time it took for you to make the robot!
>
>Usefulness - If your robot can achieve some useful function, 
>practical or not, this will earn you extra bonus points. Examples 
>would be a robo-maid, beer getter, or newspaper fetcher!
>
>~
>
>That is the first competition that is being arranged by the 
>Foundation, the second is a lot more comprehensive and public!
>
>The Robot Games.
>
>In many ways this competition will be like an olympic games.  It is 
>a test of all of a robots abilities, Speed, Agility, Strength, 
>Endurance, Uniqueness, Design, and there will even be a combat 
>section since everyone seems to want one, the one currently 
>implemented is a form of martial arts combat, boxing and bladed 
>combat, it is known as the Hardcore league.  The other form is not 
>currently implemented but will utilize wireless combat to simulate 
>weapons of all sorts in an arena.
>
>These are of course only the first two competitions we are in the 
>process of arranging, many more may be set up as time goes on but 
>for the time being we hope you will enjoy competing in these two 
>tournaments, if you want to learn more you can always reach me at 
>shadovar101 at hotmail.com and I will be happy to answer all your questions.
>
>Best wishes and I look forward to seeing you all compete!
>
>Anthony Edwards
>
>PS If any of you are interested in entering but need a bit of a 
>helping hand or don't have the confidence to enter on your own the 
>Foundation has many links to open source resources and step by step 
>instructions that will allow even those with basic engineering 
>skills to construct their own robot!
>_______________________________________________
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